To Live Your Authentic Life or Not? …THAT is the question.
How many times have you caught yourself wishing, hoping, and praying that you could make a living doing what you LOVE – doing what you KNOW you were put on this Earth for – doing what you were BORN to do?
Admittedly, that is the question that keeps popping up in my own life as well as many people around me.
How can I live an Authentic life, being true to my Divine Authentic Self, but still make ends meet?
Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to this question. However, I did get some pretty awesome insight as I was driving in my car today and I thought that I’d share it with you now:)
First, I would like you to answer this question…
What does “make ends meet” mean for you?
To many people, it means: being able to pay bills, have sufficient housing, clothing, food, and transportation, having quality healthcare, making sure the family is comfortable and taken care of, being able to enjoy entertainment once and awhile, and realistically maintaining some sort of “comfort” level that we have grown SO accustomed to in this country.
BUT…AH-HAH! That’s just it!!!
It is in this “comfort” level that we have grown up with and expect where we will find the double edge sword…stopping us from fully and truly embracing living our Authentic Lives.
Now, ask yourself this…
Who are you?
Many of you will describe yourself somewhat like this: I am a 32 year old suburbanite, married mother of three, and own a Holistic Healing Business. I am 5’6, weigh x lbs, have brown hair, blue eyes, and I like to do yoga, read, spend time in nature, listen to music, and enjoy my family and friends. I was born and grew up in IL in a conservative Catholic family of 5, blah, blah, blah….
I could go on and on about my physical, spiritual, political, and social attributes.
BUT…Is that who I REALLY am???
Is this outside shell of random qualities who any of us really are?
We touched on this in Meditation class the other week, and I think it applies so beautifully here.
We are a product of our environment. Period.
Yes, we form opinions, attitudes, and expectations throughout our lifetimes, but the point is this: We
would, without a doubt, describe ourselves MUCH differently if we were born in different circumstances, times, with different families, and different life
situations.
When we peel back all of these layers that have contributed to what we think we are, we discover we are just ONE CONSCIOUSNESS. We are AWARENESS. We are Divine LOVE.
That is all and that is everything.
It is through this love that we find Oneness, wholeness, and can operate void of all materialistic obstacles.
When we looked at our lives with an honest view, we can truthfully say to ourselves, “Yes, maybe I am afraid to live a life that will not monetarily compensate me greatly. I am afraid to downgrade. I like to go out to eat. I like to sit down in Starbucks and surf the Internet on my Laptop. I like to drive a nice car. I like to wear nice clothes. I like my IPhone, IPad, and IPod.”
The truth of the matter is most of us have grown up in a society that tells us this is how we should live. It is touted as the “American Dream.” Have your cake and eat it too. And no, there is nothing wrong with this! Yes, some of us can do what we love and make bank! However, most of us aren’t able to. When we start stripping down the layers and determining what is a “need” and what is a “want,” we will find we have very little needs and it does not require much to satisfy these needs. Many of these “wants” are things that make our ego selves feel very comfortable and secure.
But it’s a smokescreen!
When I was a younger, my family and I went on a 2 week vacation every year to a remote and small town in central WI. The tiny 1950’s cottage we stayed in had no phone, no cell service, no T.V., the floors and walls were old, cracked, and sandy, there were lots of bugs, the appliances were less than stellar; we had to even bring a coffee pot! The beautiful lake that we stayed on was a no-motor lake; only row boats and paddle boats. Not a lot of modern amenities or entertainment to say the least. I always threw a small tantrum the first night or two because it was a shock to my system to live in
that type of environment. I was totally disconnected from EVERYTHING!
BUT, it was the BEST thing for me and it will always be my most favorite spot on Earth!
Why?
Because I could find myself there. I connected with nature, myself, and the Divine in a way that I couldn’t at home with all of the modern distractions. I found silence. I found peace. I found that I really did not “need” all of those things that I thought I did to live. When stripped of all modern materialistic “wants” I found that I was ok and…wait for it...happier!!! I found that Divine Consciousness underneath all of my layers!
So, I ask you this…
What is stopping you from living a truly satisfying Authentic Life?
Your needs? … Or … Your fear of not having your “wants”?
How many times have you caught yourself wishing, hoping, and praying that you could make a living doing what you LOVE – doing what you KNOW you were put on this Earth for – doing what you were BORN to do?
Admittedly, that is the question that keeps popping up in my own life as well as many people around me.
How can I live an Authentic life, being true to my Divine Authentic Self, but still make ends meet?
Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to this question. However, I did get some pretty awesome insight as I was driving in my car today and I thought that I’d share it with you now:)
First, I would like you to answer this question…
What does “make ends meet” mean for you?
To many people, it means: being able to pay bills, have sufficient housing, clothing, food, and transportation, having quality healthcare, making sure the family is comfortable and taken care of, being able to enjoy entertainment once and awhile, and realistically maintaining some sort of “comfort” level that we have grown SO accustomed to in this country.
BUT…AH-HAH! That’s just it!!!
It is in this “comfort” level that we have grown up with and expect where we will find the double edge sword…stopping us from fully and truly embracing living our Authentic Lives.
Now, ask yourself this…
Who are you?
Many of you will describe yourself somewhat like this: I am a 32 year old suburbanite, married mother of three, and own a Holistic Healing Business. I am 5’6, weigh x lbs, have brown hair, blue eyes, and I like to do yoga, read, spend time in nature, listen to music, and enjoy my family and friends. I was born and grew up in IL in a conservative Catholic family of 5, blah, blah, blah….
I could go on and on about my physical, spiritual, political, and social attributes.
BUT…Is that who I REALLY am???
Is this outside shell of random qualities who any of us really are?
We touched on this in Meditation class the other week, and I think it applies so beautifully here.
We are a product of our environment. Period.
Yes, we form opinions, attitudes, and expectations throughout our lifetimes, but the point is this: We
would, without a doubt, describe ourselves MUCH differently if we were born in different circumstances, times, with different families, and different life
situations.
When we peel back all of these layers that have contributed to what we think we are, we discover we are just ONE CONSCIOUSNESS. We are AWARENESS. We are Divine LOVE.
That is all and that is everything.
It is through this love that we find Oneness, wholeness, and can operate void of all materialistic obstacles.
When we looked at our lives with an honest view, we can truthfully say to ourselves, “Yes, maybe I am afraid to live a life that will not monetarily compensate me greatly. I am afraid to downgrade. I like to go out to eat. I like to sit down in Starbucks and surf the Internet on my Laptop. I like to drive a nice car. I like to wear nice clothes. I like my IPhone, IPad, and IPod.”
The truth of the matter is most of us have grown up in a society that tells us this is how we should live. It is touted as the “American Dream.” Have your cake and eat it too. And no, there is nothing wrong with this! Yes, some of us can do what we love and make bank! However, most of us aren’t able to. When we start stripping down the layers and determining what is a “need” and what is a “want,” we will find we have very little needs and it does not require much to satisfy these needs. Many of these “wants” are things that make our ego selves feel very comfortable and secure.
But it’s a smokescreen!
When I was a younger, my family and I went on a 2 week vacation every year to a remote and small town in central WI. The tiny 1950’s cottage we stayed in had no phone, no cell service, no T.V., the floors and walls were old, cracked, and sandy, there were lots of bugs, the appliances were less than stellar; we had to even bring a coffee pot! The beautiful lake that we stayed on was a no-motor lake; only row boats and paddle boats. Not a lot of modern amenities or entertainment to say the least. I always threw a small tantrum the first night or two because it was a shock to my system to live in
that type of environment. I was totally disconnected from EVERYTHING!
BUT, it was the BEST thing for me and it will always be my most favorite spot on Earth!
Why?
Because I could find myself there. I connected with nature, myself, and the Divine in a way that I couldn’t at home with all of the modern distractions. I found silence. I found peace. I found that I really did not “need” all of those things that I thought I did to live. When stripped of all modern materialistic “wants” I found that I was ok and…wait for it...happier!!! I found that Divine Consciousness underneath all of my layers!
So, I ask you this…
What is stopping you from living a truly satisfying Authentic Life?
Your needs? … Or … Your fear of not having your “wants”?
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